Living in Leichhardt a lot of the Italian style ristorantes blend into each other with their endless plates of home made tagliatelle and woodfired pizza. One of these however is a little different and that is Tuscany; in the past it fell a little flat for us because we were looking for a light Italian lunch on a warm day, and while the food was excellent it was mostly hearty winter style food and so we vowed to return on a cold and rainy day.
With a Secondi Piatti list full of osso bucco and veal it's amusing that on this day both the boy and I went for beef steak dishes, but sometimes that's just what the body asks for on a wet and weary day.
Bruschetta all'Erbe $3.90
Every good Italian restaurant should start with some form of bread, this is a toasted ciabatta loaf with good quality olive oil and herbs. It was a little too toasted for the boy but definitely up my alley.
Filletto di Manzo con Funghi Porcini della Toscana $32.00
This was everything I was looking for, the fillet was thick and cooked perfectly to order. It had evidently been aged and left to store in the pancetta and the salt from the pork mixed perfectly with the beef. The sauce was a light stock infused with mushrooms (supposedly porcini but my mouth suspects otherwise) that mixed well with the dab of Cafe de Paris butter served on the fillet once it had melted.
Tagliata al Peper Verde $28.90
This was the boy's order and to be honest, it just wasn't as good as mine. The meat could have been a little more tender and the sauce was really just a glazing with peppercorns. The greens really could have been left off or at least selected better, there were pockmarkings as if it had been eaten by something.
Roasted polenta with gorgonzola $7.90
I really like a little carbs with just about everything (even if my waistline disagrees) and so with my main dish a little devoid I ordered the polenta. It's tasty and grilled freshly with a good swathe of strong blue gorgonzola melted on it and goes perfectly with the sauce for my meat.
We didn't order drinks other than soft drinks, and with our house next door we didn't order coffee so I can't comment on that matter. I would suspect based on the service that they were expecting a larger number of orders and diners were put off by the rain as I was asked about drink refills every 5 minutes and plates were cleared as soon as they were finished but they did take my hint when I asked for some time and nor did they query my photography so that works in my favour. As it was cold and raining they were also very attentive with shutters and heaters in a very helpful manner to every table.
Not the cheapest mid week meal but it certainly filled a craving and gave me warmth on a cold day.
Tuscany Ristorante
http://www.tuscanyristorante.com.au/
Open 7 days for Lunch & Dinner
Breakfast Sat & Sun 8 AM - 11.30 AM
No booking required
55 Norton Street ,
Norton Plazza, Leichardt NSW
P. 9568 2220
F. 9568 2766
info@tuscanyitalianristorante.com.au
I use Norton Plaza a fair bit as they have a Norton Street Grocer, and my postal packages go there, so I usually eyeball Tuscany as I go by. I have yet to see a big crowd in the restaurant.
ReplyDeleteThey seem to be very very big with family lunches on a Sunday during the day.
ReplyDeleteI am very concerned about the fact that their menu is unseasonal and doesn't change; we had lunch there in about November and it had all the same heavy rich dishes that are all still there.